This invention relates generally to equipment used in the generation and finishing of ophthalmic lenses and more particularly concerns a holder for suspending ophthalmic lenses and the lens blocks used in the generation and finishing of ophthalmic lenses in a lens and lens block cleaning machine.
It has been general practice in the industry that polished lenses and used lens blocks are cleaned by hand prior to coating or reuse, respectively. The assignee of the present invention has developed a machine for the purpose of cleaning lenses and lens blocks. During development of the machine, a variety of holders have been used for supporting the lenses and lens blocks in the machine. While the presently known holders have served their purpose, it is a relatively complicated process to load the lenses into the holders, especially without touching the polished faces of the lenses during the loading and unloading process to and from the machine.
It is, therefore, a primary object of this invention to provide a holder for ophthalmic lenses and lens blocks which is easily loaded and unloaded. Another object of this invention is to provide a holder for ophthalmic lenses and lens blocks in which the loading and unloading processes do not require touching of the polished faces of the lens. It is also an object of this invention to provide a holder for ophthalmic lenses and lens blocks which is able to receive and hold lenses and blocks of a variety of diameters. A further object of this invention is to provide a holder for ophthalmic lenses and lens blocks which improves the efficiency of the lens and block cleaning machine in the lens and block cleaning process.